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Phantom Offers

NickintheLakesNickintheLakes Posts: 258
edited January 2012 in Road buying advice
My bike buying saga continues...

...local LBS has Trek 2012 2.5T/C reduced by 10%. Lovely I thought, I'll take the 2.5C at £1350.

Only thing is I can't. The deal applies only to bikes that are physically in stock and they haven't got any so I can't even pay now and wait for the bike to arrive.

Ok, that's the policy but....

...they had precisely zero stock of each of the two variants prior to making the reduction and bearing in mind the reduction policy wtf did they bother to reduce them in the first place?

This is as bad as advertising bikes as "Nice Shiny Bike 105" implying it has a 105 groupset and then you find that the bike's chainset, chain, cassette and hubs aren't 105 at all.

Posts

  • sloppyschleckondssloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    Buy elsewhere?
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • sungodsungod Posts: 16,084
    if it's false advertising designed to tempt people into the shop then try to sell them something different (i.e. bait and switch), then that's illegal, you could report them to trading standards

    but life is short, if it's that kind of place i'd take my business elsewhere
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • alihisgreatalihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    maybe they are expecting stock in the near future?


    Therefore tempt the customers and get them interested in the Trek... then sell it to them at a later date?


    instead of leaving it and seeing them go elsewhere to buy a bike.
  • petemadocpetemadoc Posts: 2,331
    I'm sure if you just asked them if you could have the 10% they'd let you have it to secure a sale.

    If not then just go elsewhere
  • NickintheLakesNickintheLakes Posts: 258
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    I'm sure if you just asked them if you could have the 10% they'd let you have it to secure a sale.

    I did and they won't. :o
  • petemadocpetemadoc Posts: 2,331
    Booooo

    If they won't give you 10% off then I'd walk away.
  • NickintheLakesNickintheLakes Posts: 258
    Trading standards report made. I feel a bit cheated here so I'll see how it goes.

    What gives in this trade (I daresay it applies in others too)?

    Some of the advertising I have seen is pure nonsense. The example quoted above being but one.

    ***

    The worst case I have seen is a much lauded bike advertised as XXXXXX X Red Road Bike which implies a SRAM Red groupset (albeit at an absurdly low and unachieveable price) and it features just two red components (front and rear mech').

    Personally I think this is whilst maybe not illegal (?) it is morally objectionable and is really taking the *iss out of the customer.

    Bit like going to buy a BMW M3 and you'd expect the engine/suspension/brakes etc to be fettled and you would be unhappy if they had just stuck some M Series wheels on.
  • lakesludditelakesluddite Posts: 1,337
    Can you say which shop Nick? - I see you are in the Lakes as well, so I could do with avoiding them when I eventually come to getting a new bike!
    I'm in the South Lakes by the way...
  • NickintheLakesNickintheLakes Posts: 258
    Update: Trading Standards contacted me today and they will be asking the LBS to remove the advertisement. Basically it is illegal to advertise a product as a sale/reduced item if it is not available to purchase or not available to purchase within a reasonable time frame. (Not sure how you would work out what reasonable means in this context.)
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